FINAL FANTASY ® XIV FAN FESTIVAL 2016 ART CONTEST RULES

IMPORTANT! Please read the following rules before entering the Fan Festival 2016 in Las Vegas Art Contest (the “Contest”). By entering the Contest, you (“Entrant”) agree to be bound by the Official Contest Rules and represent that you satisfy all of the eligibility requirements for the Contest.


North America Official Contest Rules


1. ELIGIBILITY

THE CONTEST IS OPEN TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND CANADA (EXCLUDING QUEBEC) WHO HAVE AN ACTIVE FINAL FANTASY XIV ACCOUNT AND ARE OVER THE AGE OF THIRTEEN (13) AT THE TIME OF ENTRY. IF YOU DO NOT SATISFY THESE REQUIREMENTS, YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO WIN A PRIZE, AND SQUARE ENIX, INC. (“SQUARE ENIX”) RESERVES THE RIGHT TO NOT AWARD PRIZES TO ENTRANTS WHO DO NOT SATISFY THESE REQUIREMENTS. RESIDENTS OF JURISDICTIONS OTHER THAN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA MAY BE ELIGIBLE TO ENTER THE CONTEST UNDER RULES APPLICABLE TO THOSE RESIDENTS’ JURISDICTIONS IF SQUARE ENIX OR ITS AFFILIATES HAVE POSTED SUCH RULES. If you are under the legal age of majority in your state, province, or country of residence (a “Minor”), your parents or legal guardians must read, understand, and agree to these Contest rules. To be eligible to win a prize, you must participate in the Contest in the manner described below. Directors, officers, and employees of Square Enix and any of its affiliate companies, subsidiaries, agents, vendors, professional advisors, and advertising and promotional agencies, and any of their immediate family members, are not eligible to win any prizes. All applicable federal, state, provincial, and local laws and regulations apply. There is a limit of one (1) entry per person, per FINAL FANTASY XIV Account, per household, and per e-mail address; multiple entries shall be excluded and disqualified. Offer void where prohibited.


2. CONTEST PERIOD

The “Contest period” begins on July 29, 2016 at 12:01 a.m. (Pacific Time) and ends on August 31, 2016 at 11:59 p.m. (Pacific Time) (the "Deadline"). Entries must be submitted by the Deadline to be eligible to win a prize. Square Enix will, in its sole discretion, determine the valid and official entry time should any discrepancies of time occur. Square Enix reserves, in its sole discretion, the right to extend the Contest period for whatever reason without notification.


3. HOW TO ENTER

During the Contest period, Entrant must take the following steps to enter:

  • 1. Create a drawn/painted (either physical or digital), crafted, or sculpted piece of art (an “entry”) in one (1) of the three (3) following categories:

    a. "The Epic Showdown!": art depicting a battle scene from FINAL FANTASY XIV

    b. "Life in Eorzea": art depicting non-combat activities, an adventurous scene or role-play from FINAL FANTASY XIV

    c. "Crafted Physical Entries": physical handcrafted (non-drawn) art depicting something related to FINAL FANTASY XIV

    Physical, handcrafted entries must be submitted in the “Crafted Physical Entries” category. Square Enix reserves the right to change the category for an entry at Square Enix’s sole discretion.

    Digital images must be either .jpg, or .png format and must be high resolution (minimum 150 dpi, 300 dpi preferred). Entrants may use image editing software to alter, enhance, or otherwise style their entries. Physical entries shall become property of Square Enix and Square Enix shall not return such entries to Entrant. Entrants need not have Fan Festival Ticket to submit entries and need not attend Fan Festival to be eligible to win a prize.

  • 2. Submit the entry to Square Enix via one (1) of the two (2) following methods:

    a. For digital entries, upload the entry to a publicly-accessible, third-party website and submit a link to the entry via email to:

  • b. For physical (non-digital) entries, submit the entry via mail to:

    Square Enix, Inc.

    ATTN: Fan Festival 2016 Art Contest

    999 N. Sepulveda Blvd., 3rd Floor

    El Segundo, CA 90245, USA

  • 3. Provide the following information along with Entrant’s entry:

    a. Entrant’s Square Enix Account username

    Note: Square Enix will deliver physical prizes to the address registered to the Entrant’s Square Enix Account. Entrants should confirm that their registered address is correct and up to date.

    b. Character and World

    Note: Square Enix will deliver in-game prizes to this character.

    c. Category

    d. Title

    e. URL of uploaded entry (if applicable)

    Entrant must not include any additional personal information, such as Entrant’s name or address, in their entry.

Square Enix shall not accept and may delete entries that: (a) deviate from the established theme; (b) violate or infringe any laws, regulations, or rights, including any intellectual property, publicity, or privacy rights; (c) are missing required information; (d) are obscene, vulgar, discriminate, or contain any other offensive subject matter; (e) are counter to public order and/or morals; (f) Square Enix judges, in its sole discretion, to be inappropriate for any reason; (g) contain false or misleading information; (h) make unauthorized or fraudulent use of a third party’s name, email address, character name, or likeness; (i) are potentially defamatory; (j) that are of low resolution or otherwise difficult to see, hear, or evaluate; (k) violate any other rule or condition in these terms or on this webpage; and (l) are otherwise damaging or detrimental to Square Enix or any third party. Square Enix reserves the right to reject and/or delete any submissions for any other reason. Square Enix reserves the right to judge whether or not material is appropriate for public display. Square Enix reserves the right to remove or take down any content in its sole discretion.


4. PRIZES

Square Enix shall select up to forty-five (45) finalists (each, a “Finalist”)—up to fifteen (15) Finalists in each category—from qualifying entries based on creativity and overall execution.

Each Finalist will receive a brand-new in-game item (to be revealed in the future; no monetary value).

Square Enix may display the Finalists’ entries at the Art Gallery at Square Enix’s Fan Festival 2016 in Las Vegas. Square Enix may also display the Finalists’ entries on a live Internet stream of the event.

Las Vegas Fan Festival attendees are eligible to vote to select three (3) grand prize winners (each, a “Grand Prize Winner”)—one (1) Grand Prize Winner per category—from among the Finalists. The one (1) Finalist who receives the most votes in each category shall be a Grand Prize Winner.

In addition to the above prize, each Grand Prize Winner will receive each of the following prizes:

  • • One (1) FINAL FANTASY XIV lore book signed by Director & Producer Naoki Yoshida (approximate retail value of forty United States dollars ($40.00)).
  • • One (1) FINAL FANTASY XIV figure pack consisting of miniature figures of Y’shtola, Alphinaud, Tataru and Ifrit (approximate retail value of seventy United States dollars ($70.00)).

Square Enix shall announce the Finalists on or around October 14, 2016. Square Enix shall announce Grant Prize Winners on or around October 28, 2016. Square Enix shall ship the prizes to Finalists and Grand Prize Winners (collectively, “Contest Winners”) within approximately one (1) month of the selection of winners. Prize delivery timing is subject to change.

Only eligible Entrants will be eligible to win the prizes described above.

The number of winners of each prize is subject to change at Square Enix's sole discretion.

In-game items are transferable only to the characters linked to the Entrant’s service account. No substitutions or exchanges (including for cash) of any prizes will be permitted, except that Square Enix reserves the right to substitute prizes of equal or greater value for any prize listed above. Retail value of prizes is listed in United States dollars. Actual retail value of prizes may vary due to market conditions at the time prizes are awarded. Prizes won by a Minor (as determined by the laws of the Entrant's country, state, or province of residence) will be awarded to a parent or legal guardian on the Minor's behalf. All prizes are awarded "AS IS" and WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, express or implied, including, without limitation, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose


5. GENERAL CONTEST RULES

To be eligible to receive a prize, each Contest Winner must follow the instructions contained in the Notification Package and respond with the information or documents requested prior to the date specified in the Notification Package. Such requested information may be necessary for purposes of filing tax forms with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”). If a Minor is selected (as determined by the state, province, or country of residence), a parent or legal guardian must sign any required or requested documents. The requested documents must be sent to Square Enix at the address specified in the Notification Package and must be received by Square Enix by the date specified. If the Contest Winner fails to provide the requested information or documents according to the instructions provided in the Notification Package, or if the requested documents are not signed by an appropriate party (e.g., by a parent or legal guardian, if a Minor is selected) or are not received by Square Enix by the specified date, the Contest Winner shall be deemed disqualified and will forfeit his or her eligibility.

If disqualified for any reason, the Contest Winner will not receive any prize. In the event that the Contest Winner forfeits or is disqualified, Square Enix will select an alternate Entrant as a replacement for the disqualified or forfeited winner.

Entrant must submit their own name, birth date, email address, cell phone number, address, place of residence, and/or other information as requested. Entrant may not impersonate any other person, or entity, or submit false or misleading information; Square Enix reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant that does so. If a Minor is selected (as determined by the laws of state, province, or country of residence), such Minor needs to obtain consent from a parent or legal guardian. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.

In the event of a dispute about the identity of the participant, entries shall be declared made by the authorized account holder of the Forum account submitted at time of entry. An authorized account holder is defined as the natural person who is assigned a Forum account by and Forum service provider. The potential winner may be required to provide Square Enix with proof that the potential winner is the authorized account holder of the Forum account associated with the winning entry.


6. RIGHTS IN ENTRIES

All entries and other materials (the “Entry Materials”) submitted by you become the property of Square Enix upon submission, and Entry Materials will not be returned to any Entrant. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Entrant shall retain ownership of the copyrights in his/her Entry Materials (excluding any copyrights already owned by Square Enix or any third party prior to Entrant’s submission). Entrant grants Square Enix, its affiliates, and their respective licensees and assignees a perpetual, royalty free, transferrable, sublicensable, worldwide, fully-paid up license to make any and all uses of such Entry Materials. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you acknowledge that Square Enix, its affiliates, and their respective licensees and assignees will have a perpetual, royalty free, transferrable, sublicensable, worldwide, fully-paid up license to use, reproduce, display, publicly perform, transmit, publish, sell, modify, and make derivative works of the Entry Materials, without separate compensation to you or any other person or entity. You agree to take, at Square Enix’s expense, any further action (including, without limitation, execution of affidavits and other documents) reasonably requested by Square Enix to effect, perfect, or confirm Square Enix’s rights as set forth above in this paragraph. Entry Materials received by Square Enix may be destroyed by Square Enix at any time.


7. ORIGINAL WORK OF AUTHORSHIP

You hereby warrant and represent that (a) as between you and parties other than Square Enix, you own all rights to all Entry Materials submitted by you; and (b) all such Entry Materials are original works of authorship on your part and have not been copied, in whole or in part, from any other work and do not violate, misappropriate, or infringe any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary right of any other person or entity.


8. SQUARE ENIX INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

You acknowledge that the products related to, and the trademark rights in, the SQUARE ENIX® marks are exclusive to Square Enix and include, but are not limited to, the rights to use, reproduce, sell, distribute, broadcast, display, and make derivative works of, without compensation to the Contest Winner.


9. GENERAL RELEASE.

By entering the Contest, you (and, if you are a Minor, your parents or legal guardians) release and indemnify Square Enix, its affiliates, other participating sponsors, and any of their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, vendors, and agencies (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from any liability whatsoever, and waive any and all causes of action, for any claims, costs, injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the Contest or acceptance, possession, misdelivery, use of, or inability to use any prize (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries, losses, and damages related to personal injuries, death, damage to or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation or portrayal in a false light, misappropriation or infringement of intellectual property, whether intentional or unintentional) whether under a theory of contract, tort (including negligence), warranty, or other theory.

IF YOU ARE A MINOR, YOUR PARENTS OR LEGAL GUARDIANS FURTHER AGREE TO RELEASE AND INDEMNIFY EACH OF THE RELEASED PARTIES FROM ANY CLAIMS, COSTS, INJURIES, LOSSES, OR DAMAGES DESCRIBED IN THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPH THAT MAY BE SUFFERED BY YOU.


10. SELECTION OF PRIZE

Actual model, color, accessories, and features of the items awarded as prizes shall be selected by Square Enix in its sole discretion and may vary from photos or images, if any, shown in the Contest materials and advertising including the Square Enix web site.


11. USE OF ENTRANT’S AND CONTEST WINNER’S NAME, LIKENESS, ETC.

Except where prohibited by law, entry into the Contest constitutes permission to use the Entrants’ and Contest Winners’ names, account names, avatars, profile images, likenesses, prize information, submissions, and/or other information in connection with the Contest or for promotional purposes without further permission or compensation. As a condition of being awarded any prize, except where prohibited by law, Contest Winners may be required to execute a further consent to the use of their names, account names, addresses, likenesses, and/or prize information, without limitation, for promotional purposes without further permission or compensation. You hereby warrant and represent that you own all rights to your name, account name, avatar, profile image, and likeness connected with your entry and your FINAL FANTASY XIV or Square Enix account, and that all such materials are original works of authorship on your part and have not been copied, in whole or in part, from any other work and do not violate, misappropriate, or infringe any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary right of any other person or entity.


12. AFFIDAVIT AND RELEASE.

As a condition of being awarded any prize, Contest Winners (and if Contest Winner is a Minor, winner’s parent or legal guardian) may be required to execute and deliver to Square Enix a signed Affidavit of Eligibility, an acceptance of these Official Contest Rules, a release of liability, and/or other agreements or releases. Square Enix may require, in its sole discretion, to have any requested documents notarized by the Contest Winner (or his or her parent or legal guardian, in the case of a Minor).


13. WINNERS’ LIST; RULES REQUEST

For a copy of the winners’ list, send a stamped, self-addressed, business-size envelope within two (2) months of the Deadline to Square Enix at the address listed below (Attention: Fan Festival 2016 Art Contest Winners’ List). To obtain a copy of these rules, send a stamped, self-addressed, business-size envelope within two (2) months of the Deadline to Square Enix at the address listed below (Attention: Fan Festival 2016 Art Contest Rules Request).


14. COPYRIGHT NOTICE.

The Contest and all accompanying Contest materials are Copyright © 2016 by Square Enix, Inc. unless otherwise indicated. All Rights Reserved.


15. MISCELLANEOUS

The Contest and these Official Contest Rules will be governed, construed, and interpreted under the laws of the United States of America. Entrants agree to be bound by these Official Contest Rules and by the decisions of Square Enix, which are final and binding in all respects. Square Enix reserves the right to change these Official Contest Rules at any time, in its sole discretion, and to suspend or cancel the Contest or any Entrant’s participation in the Contest should viruses, bugs, unauthorized human intervention, or other causes beyond Square Enix’s control affect the administration, security, or proper play of the Contest or Square Enix otherwise becomes, as determined in its sole discretion, incapable of running the Contest as planned at any time without any notice. Entrants who violate these Official Contest Rules, violate the terms of service of Square Enix or FINAL FANTASY XIV, tamper with the operation of the Contest, or engage in any conduct that is detrimental or unfair to Square Enix, the Contest, any other Entrant, or any other person in each case as determined in Square Enix’s sole discretion, are subject to disqualification from entry into the Contest. Square Enix reserves the right to disqualify persons whose eligibility is in question or who have been disqualified or are otherwise ineligible to enter the Contest. If you have any questions about these Official Contest Rules or the Contest, please send written questions to Square Enix at the address set forth below.


16. FORCE MAJEURE

Square Enix reserves the right to change, suspend, or cancel the Contest if, in Square Enix’s sole discretion, intervening circumstances warrant such change, suspension, or cancellation. Intervening circumstances include, but are not limited to, strikes, labor disputes, war, insurrections, revolutions, terrorism, riots or other civil disturbances, earthquakes, fires, floods or other natural disasters, governmental restrictions, embargoes or other exercises of governmental authority, unavailability of supplies, components, or material, or any other cause beyond Square Enix’s control.


17. DISCLAIMER

Square Enix, its affiliates, all participating sponsors, and any of their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, professional advisors, employees, agents, vendors, and agencies will not be responsible for any of the following: (a) any late, lost, misrouted, garbled, or distorted or damaged transmissions or entries; (b) any telephone, electronic, hardware, software, network, Internet, or other computer or communications related malfunctions or failures; (c) any Contest disruptions, injuries, losses, or damages caused by events beyond the control of Square Enix or other participating sponsors; or (d) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Contest.


18. AMENDMENT

Square Enix reserves the right to amend the terms and conditions set forth herein without notice; however, the remaining terms in this Official Contest Rules remain in full force and effect, and all rights and obligations set forth herein and any amendments shall be binding upon Square Enix and the Contest Winner, should such change take place.


19. TAXES, COSTS, AND FEES

It is each Contest Winner’s sole responsibility to file winning prizes with the IRS or other governmental entities, should it be required by law to do so. ALL FEDERAL, STATE, PROVINCIAL, AND LOCAL TAXES, OR OTHER COSTS OR FEES, ASSOCIATED WITH THE RECEIPT OR USE OF ANY PRIZES ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CONTEST WINNERS. Each Contest Winner shall consult with a professional, if necessary.


20. NO ENTITLEMENT TO FEES

IN NO EVENT WILL THE CONTEST ENTRANTS OR CONTEST WINNERS BE ENTITLED TO ANY FEE, ROYALTY, OR OTHER COMPENSATION OF ANY KIND AS A RESULT OF THE CONTEST. BY ENTERING, EACH ENTRANT (AND, IF A MINOR, HIS OR HER PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN) IRREVOCABLY WAIVES ANY RIGHT TO COMPENSATION FOR SQUARE ENIX’S USE OF SUCH ENTRANT’S ENTRY MATERIALS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THESE RULES.


21. LEGAL COMPLIANCE

Each Entrant and Contest Winner shall comply with all applicable federal, state, provincial, and local laws and regulations at all times.


22. TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY.

By participating in the Contest, you agree to be bound and abide by Square Enix, Inc.’s Mobile and Online Terms of Service (available at http://na.square-enix.com/us/documents/tnc), Square Enix Inc.’s Privacy Policy (available at http://na.square-enix.com/us/documents/privacy), the FINAL FANTASY XIV user agreement (http://support.na.square-enix.com/rule.php?id=5382&tag=users_en), the FINAL FANTASY XIV Material Usage License Agreement (http://support.na.square-enix.com/rule.php?id=5382&la=1&tag=authc), and all other applicable policies and terms of use.

To the extent Entrant uses any third party service in connection with the Content, Entrant agrees to be bound by and comply with all applicable terms of services, privacy policies, and other policies.


23. CONTEST SPONSOR.

The sponsor of the Contest is Square Enix, Inc. Square Enix is a leading developer and publisher of digital entertainment content. Correspondence regarding the Contest or these Official Contest Rules may be directed to the following address:

Square Enix, Inc.
Attention: Fan Festival 2016 Art Contest
999 North Sepulveda Blvd., Third Floor
El Segundo, California 90245